There is a belief I cannot shake, no matter how much I try to contest it. In my mind, It stands resolute, like an oak in a storm, unshakeable. To some it may sound simplistic, even idealistic, but I welcome any explanation as to why this logic should not eternally ring true:

“To make the world a better place, we must become better people.”

I hold this conviction because, regardless of technological, political, cultural, or economic advancement, it is always humans who remain the ultimate decision-makers. We are the leaders, the voters, the parents, the teachers, the doctors, etc. Place any tool in our hands and the future depends less on the tool itself and more on the wisdom with which we wield it. Better people make better decisions, and better decisions shape a better civilization.

And yet, we largely seem blind to this reality. We champion environmental protection, scientific discovery, and economic growth (all worthy causes) but rarely confront the truth that none of these achievements are sustainable without the parallel cultivation of our inner development: our ability to think clearly, uphold moral frameworks, collaborate, empathize, embody self-awareness, etc. In other words, our ability to “be better”.

Put differently: what is the point of building self-driving cars if we are simultaneously building biological weapons that can extinct us?

Consider for a moment that the most transformative technology in human history was not the wheel, or the printing press, or electricity, but the social technology of religion: the intergenerational transmission of wisdom through story, ritual, and fable. Sure, raw knowledge can be etched on a rock and trickled down generations, but religion made ideas accessible, engaging, and most importantly, contagious. That was the game changer.

For millennia, religions have more often than not taught us how to “be better,” embedding lessons of restraint, kindness, or justice in narratives vivid enough to endure. Moral progress has always been human progress. Without centuries of this conditioning, democracy itself could scarcely have taken root; populations first had to internalize values like equality, selflessness, and cooperation before they could ever govern themselves.

Of course, religions have evolved: from worshipping sun gods and burning witches to preaching love of neighbor and the balance of yin and yang. Their record is far from perfect, and extremism certainly remains, depending where you look. Yet zoom out, and the arc bends toward progress. For the astute, religion’s deeper offering is not dogma, but the power of education, storytelling, and philosophizing: the means by which ideas spread and civility rises.

Now this is not to say that we should all become devoutly religious, quite the contrary. I myself am not religious, perhaps vaguely spiritual, but above else, a person who is an avid fan of logic. And logically, I cannot discount the overarching trend. The point I’m making is to not espouse religion per se, but to illustrate the power of communication, education, or more loosely; the transmission of ideas. Philosophizing, analyzing, synthesizing, these are the building blocks of real human progress.

As an example, as I look around at many of the current political talking points, it seems clear to me that so much of our collective energy should be dedicated towards tackling the debate of socialism vs capitalism. I’m not referring to policy on the matter, but philosophy. What constitutes a good life? Do we favor economic safety over adventure and freedom? These are not easy question to answer. And yet we are caught downstream of these conversations, arguing about the merits of medicare-for-all rather than about the ideologies that led people to such conclusions.

We have deeply philosophical questions to wrestle with, yet we as a society are devoid of philosophizing. Sure, there are lots of people yelling about how they hate such and such politician, but where is the conversation? Where is the constructive debate?

Education and personal development is how we get there. Debating is not easy, collaborating is not easy, and frankly, thinking, is not easy. Especially when we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed.

So again: to make the world a better place, become better people.

Education ought to be the cornerstone of any self-respecting democracy. At the very least, informed citizens are informed voters. On this basis alone, it make sense for any civilization to hold education as paramount. And yet the numbers tell a bleak story: only 36% of Americans can pass a basic civics test; just 67% of eighth graders meet the most basic reading standard; and the U.S. spends roughly 2.3% of its federal budget on education versus nearly 5% on defense.

It makes no logical sense. Education is the only way a civilization trends forward in the long run. Or better put by HG Wells:

“Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe.”

Not to be alarmist, but we are not winning that race.

So we need a cultural mindset shift. Currently, our cultural imagination equates progress with external discovery; colonizing mars, engineering new frontiers, all while neglecting internal discovery. I admire Elon Musk’s ambition to populate another planet, but what use is a Mars colony if our moral fortitude is just as underdeveloped there as it is here? In my view, Elon’s naivety is not that we can scientifically populate Mars, it’s that we can peacefully and sustainably exist there.

Golding’s Lord of the Flies captures this conundrum perfectly: children stranded on an island, their fragile order unraveling into fear and violence. It is less a survival story than a parable about human coexistence. For me, it is as useful and instructive as any religious text. Which raises the question: why is it, in a secular west, our schools focus more on dogma than timeless tales such as Lord of The Flies that can enrich our lives and propensity for good? Why is it that we obsess over minutia like memorizing the exact dates of obscure medieval battles or the names of all the state capitals, as if such rote knowledge could cultivate any discernible wisdom.

So when I say education, I do not mean propaganda. I mean cultivating wisdom and worldliness. I mean the adage of teaching how to think, rather than what to think. The modern world is an incredibly complex place that requires incredibly sophisticated minds to navigate it. Our only hope for sustainability is developing those minds. And if it isn’t in our school, then as adults we must seize the opportunities we have to communicate with one another and advance our collective consciousness through civil discussion and debate.

Although I generally feel it unwise and unproductive to pine for any bygone era, there is one exception I make. In recent history, there was a time when our cultural values skewed more toward internal exploration, and that time was the 1970s. With the popularization of Eastern philosophies in the West, the psychedelic movement, and the hippie ethos writ large, society placed far greater emphasis on progress through inward development; be it mental or spiritual. It is no coincidence that this era also marked the height of mass intellectual discourse via televised debates on shows like Firing Line, bringing philosophy, politics, and morality into living rooms.

I’m not going to suggest that the 1970s were, in some absolute sense, a superior era for human potential; there is too much complexity to allow for sweeping generalizations of any decade. But I will say this: the 70s deserve to be held as a reminder that cultural shifts are well within our grasp. History shows us that it can take only a handful of dedicated, influential minds to sway the pendulum. And what moment could be more ripe for such influence than the one we inhabit now; an age in which anyone can broadcast their voice to influence others.

The filmmaker David Lynch often described people as being like lightbulbs. In his mind, we have a light inside us but we also have the ability to radiate it outwards and infect others with it. Enlightened individuals inspire others to do the same, until this enlightenment spreads across society. Progress, in this view, does not begin with grand technological leaps, but with people becoming better versions of themselves.

Or as Lynch himself put it:

“Maybe enlightenment is far away, but it’s said that when you walk toward the light, with every step, things get brighter. Every day, for me, gets better and better. And I believe that enlivening unity in the world will bring peace on earth.”

More Internal Exploration, Less Outer

August 24, 2025 · 6 min read — Last Edited August 30, 2025